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 Previous: Surfin': Got Shack? |  Next: FCC Amateur Radio Enforcement Letters for the Period Ending January 23, 2005 |
By Norm Fusaro, W3IZ
ARRL Affiliated Club/Mentor Program Manager
January 23, 2005
The New York City -- Long Island Section held its annual Ham Radio University on Sunday January 9, 2005 at Briarcliffe College in Bethpage, NY. This event is not like your typical hamfest as there are no vendors or dealers. The focus at HRU is to present information on various Amateur Radio related topics to the attending hams.
"The product here is knowledge." said George Tranos, N2GA, NLI Section Manager. Over three hundred hams turn out for this event where some are introduced to a segment of Amateur Radio for the very first time. Some of the forum topics included emergency communications, propagation, lightning protection, DXing, introduction to Morse code and many others. The forums were well organized and very informative. All attendees received a package full of operating aids, pamphlets and other informative brochures.
 Attendees of NLI Section's Ham Radio University were able to get information from clubs and ARRL field representatives. |
One large room was set aside for clubs. The booths were staffed with club members to answer questions and hand out information to the guests. The ARRL NLI Section also had a booth where they could assist people with information about ARRL and other Amateur radio related topics. A team of Volunteer Examiners was on hand to administer all Amateur Radio exam elements to those wanted to upgrade or get their first license.
Visitors to HRU were honored to hear special guest speaker Riley Hollingsworth, K4ZDH, Special Counsel for Amateur Radio Enforcement for the FCC. While focusing on enforcement issues, Riley also told the crowd of their obligation to "sell" Amateur Radio and to support their national organization, ARRL, in the efforts that they are doing on behalf of all hams. "Today all groups need a national organization [to protect their interest]." Riley said, "There's even a national organization for kite flyers." He reminded the audience that in the past Amateur Radio had powerful colleagues like Senator Barry Goldwater, K7UGA (SK) and others that were hams and they could help look after our interest. Riley emphasized that in today's world of powerful lobbies and special interest groups, the individual's letter doesn't carry much weight so we need to support our national organization for Amateur Radio, ARRL.
Riley shared his vision for ham radio to last "a thousand years" and made it a point to remind all hams of their obligation to invite someone to join the world of Amateur Radio. He told the audience "If you are not the person to teach a class or work one on one then try something new. Try getting on PSK-31 or a mode that you don't normally operate." Riley was making a point for all hams to rejuvenate their enthusiasm for the hobby and this enthusiasm will become contagious. He suggested that we introduce youngsters to Amateur Radio and plant the seed for the future. However, if we are to get new hams into the hobby right now we should focus on the part of the population that has the time and resources to devote to a hobby.
He also praised the Amateur community for all of the work that they do with mentoring. The focus of his message was that we all have to give something back to this wonderful hobby that has given us so much. "I could not agree with more with Riley when it comes to mentoring" comments Hudson Division Vice-Director, Joyce Birmingham, KA2ANF. Joyce has been extremely active in promoting mentor programs in the ARRL Affiliated Clubs throughout her division.
Although Mr. Hollingsworth is not involved in the rule
making arm of the FCC he did make mention that there is restructuring on the
horizon and that we need to be focused on getting new people into the
hobby. He noted that Amateur Radio has
always been able to change and adapt as the world changes. Paraphrasing ARRL's Executive Vice
President, Dave Sumner, K1ZZ, Riley told the group "It's not what you do to get
into ham radio that is important. It is
what you do after you get into ham radio."
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Another attraction to the forums and guest speakers was the
special event station W2V. All licensed
operators were invited to operate the station during convention hours. One operator that got his first taste of HF
was Peter Kreppein, KC2NEX. Working
with a control operator, this seventh grader called CQ several times on 20
meters and soon had stations piled up trying to work him. It wasn't long before he was handling the
QSOs like an old pro. After talking to
hams form Florida, Illinois, Wisconsin, Montana and Tennessee, Peter was
anxious to get started on upgrading his license. He said that he picked up some tips on learning the code at one
of the earlier forums. Peter is a great
example of the enthusiasm that Riley Hollingsworth spoke of when he addressed
his audience. If knowledge was the
product then the NLI section's Ham Radio University had plenty of satisfied
customers this weekend.
| Previous: Surfin': Got Shack? | Next: FCC Amateur Radio Enforcement Letters for the Period Ending January 23, 2005 |
